Everything you need to know about Athlete’s Foot

We all know someone who has had athletes foot. Or you have actually had it yourself. Athlete’s Foot is a fungal infection that affects the foot and skin in a few different ways.

Athlete’s Foot is a bothersome fungal infection that is sometimes referred to as tinea pedis. Bothersome because in the majority, cases aren’t life-threatening or serious. The problem is that Athlete’s Foot likes to play stubborn when you try to get rid of it and its following symptoms.

Athlete’s Foot Causes

Athlete’s Foot is contagious so the chances are if you have it you could have come in direct contact with someone who has Athlete’s Foot already. Or a surface or object where the tinea fungus has already made a presence.

The fungus loves warm, humid, and moist environments. These include but are not limited to your shoes, showers, saunas, swimming pools, hot tubs, and locker room floors.

The above can be avoided or moved around and the fungus from Athlete’s Foot can still come in contact with you. For example, if you were to be wearing shoes and socks then ran through puddles all day and let your feet stay damp. Even after you stopped running through the puddles, you’re at risk for Athlete’s Foot since your feet continue to stay damp.

The above example can be used for someone with heavy perspiration in their feet during athletic activities. Which is why clean socks and changing your socks is so vital for athletes, to avoid athlete’s foot. The sweat can easily build up and stay damp just like the example where someone runs through puddles. It allows the fungus to grow much easier.

Sharing certain clothing items and clothes with someone who already has Athlete’s Foot can be a gateway to spread the fungus as well.

Athlete’s Foot Symptoms

Athlete’s Foot is very distinguishable from basic skin peeling off of the feet. When you have Athlete’s Foot it will become very obvious with a mix of visual representation and uncomfortable feeling on the infected area.

Symptoms of Athlete’s Foot include raw skin and discoloration on the feet. The raw skin in the infected areas can appear pinkish or lighter than usual. Peeling and cracked skin will occur in between the toes and bottoms of feet surrounding the infected area with fungus. We mentioned in a recent article that foot blisters are also associated with Athlete’s Foot.

These are the common and frequently seen symptoms associated with Athlete’s Foot

Other symptoms include:

Toenails retracting from nail bed

Burning on the soles of the feet

Discolored toenails

Cracking of skin

If you have any of these symptoms or related ones you should speak with your doctor. Athlete’s Foot can be treated with basic home remedies and medications but if it doesn’t go away medical attention can help.

Treating Athlete’s Foot

Be careful of popular home remedies you read about online since some of them can be misleading and not true. For that reason, we are not going to touch on the topic of home remedies for Athlete’s Foot.

Over the counter medications should usually be all it takes to cure your Athlete’s Foot in a short amount of time without further spread of the fungus. These OTC antifungal medications are miconazole, terbinafine, tolnaftate, clotrimazole, and of course butenafine. Ask your local pharmacist which is best in your case of Athlete’s Foot.

If your infection isn’t too severe your podiatrist may recommend the at home remedies we did not cover.

In Conclusion

Athlete’s foot isn’t a life-threatening condition that will take years to recover from. It can easily be avoided once you understand the root cause.

Keep in mind the tips we provided to avoid Athlete’s Foot in your day to day life and you will be free of this unwanted foot infection.